IoT vs. M2M
IoT and M2M both offer remote device access, but the differences start there.
Remote Device AccessAccess to remote devices, machines, assets and other entities provides a primary value proposition for both M2M and IoT solutions. M2M applications are typically composed of hardware modules embedded in a machine at a customer site that communicate via proprietary cellular or wireline networks to a dedicated software application, often at the supplier's service operation. This capability allows the device/asset/machine supplier to reduce its service management costs through remote diagnostics, troubleshooting, updates, and other remote capabilities that decrease the need to deploy field service personnel.In industrial IoT solutions, the "what, how and why" of remote device access involves much broader brushstrokes. The IoT accommodates not only the same devices/assets/machines as M2M applications, but also low-power and passive sensors as well as inexpensive devices that may not be able to justify a dedicated M2M hardware module. IoT devices communicate via standards-based IP networks and their data are incorporated into enterprise applications to enable not only improved service, but also operational improvement and new business models such as product-as-a-service. The ability for applications throughout the enterprise to access device data to enable performance improvements, business innovation or other possibilities clearly distinguishes the potential of IoT versus that of M2M. This IoT-based data delivery is usually to a cloud, allowing access by any sanctioned enterprise application. In contrast, M2M typically employs direct point-to-point communication. The cloud-based architecture also makes IoT inherently more scalable, eliminating the need for incremental hard-wired connections and SIM card installations. This is one reason why M2M is often referred to as "plumbing," while the IoT is seen as a universal enabler.
Integrated IoT Solutions Enable Higher-Order BenefitsEnterprise integration, higher-order-benefits potential, and the ability to accommodate more and a wider variety of devices underscore why the IoT market bears much greater potential than traditional M2M. Customers of M2M and IoT applications alike aim to reduce unplanned downtime, and both types of solutions potentially can improve service management, a higher order benefit. The IoT excels here as well, providing the ability to assess these issues from a system level as well as at the device or machine level and applying analytics and processing Big Data to tweak out incremental benefits.Reliance on the software versus hardware aspects of the architecture makes IoT solutions more accessible to a broader variety of both internal and external customers. Universal visualization capabilities allow data to be presented anywhere, including on mobile devices, to any sanctioned users. The combination of these attributes further raises the visibility of IoT solutions and generates attention at the corporate level, rather than just at the departmental level.
